Review of "Hazelmoon's Hawaiian Tarot"

"Hazelmoon's Hawaiian Tarot"
by Katalin Csikos

I was drawn to purchase this deck from the reviews on Aeclectic Tarot, as well as my affinity for Hawaii; her land, her myths and her people. The images are

simply gorgeous and even though the author is “kama’aina” rather than

“kanaka”, she captures the native spirit beautifully in this deck.

Each card has a very wide border with traditional Hawaiian petroglyphs

on the sides, the card number on top, the card name across the bottom.

Within this wide border is a narrow color-coded margin that is helpful.

Red for swords, Purple for stones, yellow for sticks and green for

major arcana. I find the super-wide margin and busy petroglyphs detract from the inner image of the card and reduce its size too much.  Petroglyphs would have better been reserved for the card back. Card back instead is a

rather ho-hum palm tree, and the image is not reversible so it’s not an

ideal deck for those who read reversed meanings.

The suits are Sticks (instead of Wands), Cups, Swords and Lava Stones (in place of pentacles or coins)

The little booklet that accompanies the deck is quite good for

simplified, clear explanations. I particularly like that the booklet

gives you a feel for how to interpret the court cards in a reading. “If

you get this card it means….” Very nice and direct and good for those

struggling with court cards as I often find myself!

The artwork of the deck is stunning. Most of the cards are exquisite,

joyful and sheer perfection, but I found some of the cards difficult to

decipher. Unless you are already very familiar with RWS system of

interpretation, you would be lost trying to use this deck. It’s

definitely NOT for beginners.

To further complicate the situation, if you search the accompanying

booklet for explanations, many of the descriptions do not explain the

particular images in the card in question. For instance, the seven of

sticks shows an image of a fence, with seven posts and a statuette atop

the front of the fence, poised looking out to sea. The booklet

description for the card includes competition, business negotiation,

war. This card does not match that description, unless there is a

meaning behind the illustration of which I am unaware. The author does

not explain her choice of imagery for this card. We are also left puzzling over interpretations for several other cards in this deck.

The major arcana cards are just lovely. The Fool is a child gazing toward Mauna Loa, ukulele in hand and doggie trailing him. I much prefer the image of a child for the Fool card to the use of adults and bizarre, garish clown images as you find in most other decks. The Magician spins his flaming torch to form a blurred circle. Just beautiful! The High Priestess sits within a stone circle in a shallow lagoon and raises her cup to the moon. Perfection! I didn’t like Queen Liliuokalani as the Empress. This particular queen had an unhappy and fruitless marriage, and was the end of Hawaiian monarchy so she doesn’t seem to embody the principles of the Empress card at all. And, in the card she is pictured with a frown on her face, in a formal setting wearing an evening gown. Quite far removed from nature. Queen Liliuokalani would have made a much better Queen of Swords than Empress. Instead, we have Pele, the fire/volcano goddess, pictured as the Queen of Swords. This doesn't resonate with me at all. I have to have the suits associated logically with the elements; for me, swords need to be associated with air, while the wands/sticks need to be affiliated with fire. Several of the sword cards show fire elements like lava and volcanoes; that rather spoils the deck for me. Princess Kaiulani would have made an excellent Princess of Swords, although in this deck, the court cards are presented as King, Queen, Warrior and Boy. I think prince and princess would fit in just fine and would balance out the genders in the court cards, but that's just me I guess!!

Loved the Emperor, King Kamehameha in all his glory. Loved the Hierophant, which is a picture of the Little Blue Church in Kona. Very innovative and fits! The Chariot is fabulous as two dolphins charging forward while reined in by a woman riding atop their backs. My favorite card in the majors is “Justice” which is a smiling woman in a market with various tropical fruits and a scale on the table in front of her. The death card is simple and poignant with the lei floating out to sea. The tradition behind this is not mentioned in the booklet, but probably most people are already familiar? Still, the description should have been included.

"Tower” card is Oahu's Aloha Tower pictured at night; it is colored a bright pink; but in real life, the Aloha Tower is a camouflaged color so that the building seems to disappear at night except for the lights. The Tower in the card is intact, with a lightning strike behind, which doesn’t give the same somber impression of great change and a shaken foundation that this card normally represents.

I found the “Temperance” card odd because the woman pours the contents of her vessels from outstretched arms in polar opposite directions, BUT both are pouring into the same sea so it is workable if you are already familiar with RWS. “The Evil” replacing “The Devil” is rather different; there is no sense of earthly temptation there, but it does represent the deck theme of respect for the earth and its creatures so it’s workable for those familiar already with RWS.

I also loved the “Sun” card which is sun shining on a group of lovely

anthuriums. The Moon card speaks to me as it pictures a full moon over

the sacred “Place of Refuge” on the Big Island. I think I’d have

preferred this image to represent four of swords although the bland

image of a tree and four swords is what we get for that card.

Several of the minor arcana cards are little more than numbered pips, albeit pretty ones. Ten of Sticks is just an image of ten palm trees as seen looking up from the ground; no sense of overburden, heavy weight or oppression as described in booklet. The booklet also describes Ten of Sticks as a card of home, family and friends? Well, I suppose it could be, but again, you don’t get that sense by looking at this image of ten trees.

Ten of Swords is ten swords with the sun shining above them which does not well-represent despair, desolation, and an ending. Three of Cups is a picture of Waipio Valley, nothing celebratory or indicative of conviviality in that card. Seven of Cups is Poipu beach with seven palm trees. Nothing on this card transmits the need for discretion and caution in dealings with others. Two of cups is two cups surrounded by a lei, very nicely done! Several other cup cards look similar to each other except for the number of cups present. Nine of

cups shows nine cups lined up with three spilled, no sense of happiness

or wish fulfillment.

Eight of Sticks is described as “forward movement” but is a picture of a hut in a lagoon with eight palm trees next to it. No sense of movement at all. I did like the Five of Sticks, which was a road crossed with lava (I think, there is no explanation of the image in the booklet). Six of Sticks, less clear with a grassy expanse surrounded by six trees, no depiction of victory, success or pride.

A card which I strongly dislike in this deck is the King of Swords. It's an image of a white-haired male (not sure if he is supposed to be white or asian) against the background map of the Hawaiian islands. There is a big flag placed prominently on the card that is a combination of a Union Jack on a field of red/white and blue stripes. This deck overall is earth-based and the interjection of politics really spoils the effect. If you check  the booklet for an explanation, there is none; just some notation about King Kamehameha and how the card is supposed to represent power. This card is obviously NOT about Kamehameha, but seems instead to be a poke at foreign influence in Hawaii. Asians are well-assimilated into the culture as are westerners, so the addition of racial and political discord seems really inappropriate here.

Overall a nice concept with beautiful artwork, but I doubt I will be using it for readings. I'd love to see a Hawaiian deck done with some of the Hawaiian gods/goddesses represented in the major arcana and the suits placed in proper elemental symbology, as well as some of the historical royal figures presented in the court cards.

To view images of the majors, please visit the author's website:
http://www.myhawaiiantarot.com/